Jewish 101: Yom Kippur

What Is Yom Kippur?

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn day on the biblical calendar, commanded in Leviticus chapters 16 and 23. It falls on the tenth of the seventh month and was designated as a day to afflict your souls through fasting, self-examination, and repentance.

Atonement in the Time of the Temple

In the time of the temple, it was the only day when the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the entire nation, offering sacrifices for both known and unknown sins.

After the destruction of the temple, the central elements of the service, especially the sin offerings and the scapegoat, could no longer be carried out. Yet the day remained, and over centuries of exile and dispersion, it continued to be observed through fasting, prayer, and communal confession.

Observance Today

Today, synagogues around the world are filled as people, wearing white clothes, recite long lists of sins, fast for twenty-five hours, and reflect on the past year. The day begins with the Kol Nidre prayer and ends with a single blast of the shofar, a sound of release and closure.

Yom Kippur in the New Testament

Yom Kippur is also mentioned in the New Testament, in Acts 27:9. It is referred to simply as "the Fast," and scholars widely agree this is a reference to Yom Kippur, showing that the early believers, including Paul, continued to recognize and live within the rhythm of the biblical calendar.

The Meaning for Messianic Jews

For Messianic Jews, the significance of Yom Kippur remains. We do not fast to earn forgiveness. We believe that Yeshua, through his death, provided that forgiveness for us individually. But as members of the covenant people of Israel, we fast and pray as an act of humility, remembrance, and responsibility.

It is a day to reflect on our own sins, to intercede for our people, and to stand in solidarity with the nation as it seeks mercy, often without knowing where true atonement is found.

A Day That Still Points Forward

Yom Kippur is not obsolete. It remains a part of God's appointed times, a day set apart for communal and national repentance, reconciliation, and prayer. And prophetically, it points toward the day when all Israel will recognize the one they pierced, the one who, like the scapegoat of Yom Kippur, was led outside the camp to bear the sins of the people.